Management Today articles from July 2008

Management Today archives from July 2008

Editorial: Women who've seized the day.(35 Women Under 35)(Editorial)
July 10, 2008... There's nothing like the annual appearance of MT's renowned '35 Women Under 35' list to make me feel old. And inadequate. And, of course, male. Every year it's the same, as another hair whitens and another wrinkle is etched. Maybe it's time...

Contributors.
July 10, 2008... TIM LINDSAY The ad man found Gordon Torr's Managing Creative People a 'strange book', one that examines the history of creativity rather than advising how to manage it. The author may have interpreted his own brief a touch too creatively,...

Chartered Management Institute: In my Opinion.(generation Y)(Viewpoint essay)
July 10, 2008... Chartered Management Institute Companion Vanessa Lawrence argues that we ignore the potential of Generation Y at our peril. Picture the scene: a middle-aged chief executive is tackled at a heated meeting of hundreds of staff by a...

The MT Diary.(Management Today)(purchasing a shirt in Beijing and riding a taxicab in Toronto)(Travel narrative)
July 10, 2008... Shirtless in Beijing; Toronto's taxi choice: conspiracy bore or Mr Geography's challenge? I don't often pack too many clothes for a business trip, but every now and again Homer nods, and he did so on a recent visit to China, when I forgot...

Ten ways to: Cope in the heat.(Brief article)
July 10, 2008... 1. Get effective air-conditioning 2. Relax the dress code 2. Drink plenty of water 3. Breathe deeply: heat and tempers rise in sync 4. Know that mornings will be productive .. 5.... and afternoons less so 6. Have office plants for...

It'll Never Fly: Cannabis.(use of marijuana)
July 10, 2008... Take a few dried cannabis leaves, roll them up in a tube of paper, set it alight and, if you're not Bill Clinton, inhale the smoke. This will turn you into a giggling lunatic. Later, you'll be lethargic, boring, paranoid and possibly fat...

Dave's Eco-nomics: Sustainable driving.(environment-friendly driving practices)(Brief article)
July 10, 2008... GREEN ALERT In Europe, there are about 500 cars for every 1,000 people Manufacturers are clamouring to produce hybrid and electric models, but it's hard to imagine most drivers immediately ditching their serviceable car for a small green...

Earning curve: mental health.(Brief article)
July 10, 2008... NHS anti-depressant prescriptions ('07) - pounds 3.3bn Cygnet Healthcare, psychiatric services, turnover ('08) - pounds 80m Furry Little Monsters, pet psychologist, per hour - pounds 35 Newly qualified NHS art therapist, p.a. - pounds 23k...

Workplace rights: Flexible extension.(extension of right to request flexible working hours to include employees with children aged 16 years old and below)(Brief article)
July 10, 2008... The issue of work/life balance is under the spotlight again after the Government's decision to extend the right to request flexible working to employees with children up to the age of 16, bringing another 4.5 million people within its scope....

Your route to the top: Become a brave leader.
July 10, 2008... Feel the fear. Helen Keller once said: 'Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.' Courageous leaders experience as much fear as others; they just don't let it paralyse them. Replace 'I can't' with 'I will'. Say it like it is....

History lessons: Delegate to accumulate - The Kray twins.(Reginald "Reggie" Kray and Ronald "Ronnie" Kray)
July 10, 2008... The Krays started out in the '50s, running protection rackets from a dingy snooker hall in east London. Through a mixture of robbery and violence, they acquired a small empire of London clubs and properties and, in a clever bit of brand...

Why business is like ... three mile island.
July 10, 2008... At 4am on March 28, 1979, while the civilians of Middletown, Pennsylvania slept, the meltdown of a nearby nuclear power plant was under way. A leak had caused two pumps feeding crucial cooling water to the reactor at Three Mile Island to...

Do it right: Taking on volunteers.(Brief article)
July 10, 2008... Develop a system. Have a structured process for dealing with volunteers, from application to exit interview. And check references. Give inductions. In the event of a fire, you don't want volunteers mistaking the stationery cupboard for the...

Slogan Doctor: Beijing Olympics: 'One World, One Dream'.(Brief article)
July 10, 2008... It's hard to decide whether the slogan of the Beijing Olympics is sinister or banal. Appeals to unity by an authoritarian state in which having a different dream is a dangerous pursuit do not have a great history. In 'One World, One Dream'...

How does he manage?: Cricket club boss - Paul Sheldon, CEO, Surrey County Cricket Club.
July 10, 2008... - When did you become a manager? My first proper management job came in my first career with Hodder & Stoughton. I led a sales team at the book publisher who were all much older than me. It wasn't easy, but by understanding what they did,...

Remember this.(Quotation)
July 10, 2008... 'Ambition is a dream with a V8 engine' - Elvis Presley said it. 'Whenever a friend succeeds, a little something in me dies' - Gore Vidal said it

Are you suffering from: Information Compulsion.(Brief article)
July 10, 2008... No sooner have you finished the newspaper than you go onto Bloomberg to make sure you haven't missed an update. All such things are, of course, programmed into your BlackBerry to make sure you don't miss a single turn in the stock market or...

Words-worth: Premium.(Definition)
July 10, 2008... Adjectives stick to the word lager like feet to a pub carpet. On the street, there's 'cooking', 'throwing' and the notorious 'wife-beater' lager. In the industry, though, they talk about 'premium lager'. In each case, the differentiating...

Stat of the month: A gag on enterprise - 77 - The number of countries restricting free speech.
July 10, 2008... It's not just bloggers and hacks who care about free expression. There are compelling arguments linking free speech to economic prosperity. Economists like the Nobel Prize-winning Amartya Sen argue that a free press keeps a check on...

How they made their pile: Ernesto and Kirsty Bertarelli.(Brief article)
July 10, 2008... Who are they? Ernesto, 42, was CEO of Swiss biotech company Serono He married Kirsty, a former Miss UK, in 2000, and sold the firm to Merck six years later. The couple are worth pounds 5.65bn. The modest Mrs Bertarelli may deny it, but she's...

Val Gooding: If I had to start again ..
July 10, 2008... I wouln't have minded doing something in the performing arts. I recently asked my husband if it was too late to become an actress. He said it was, in no uncertain terms. I studied French at university, and had the naive idea of actually...

Crash Course in: Offering sabbaticals.
July 10, 2008... A valued employee has quit because she wanted time off to do something else and was told she couldn't have it. Now you have the trouble and expense of finding a replacement. Maybe offering sabbaticals wouldn't be such a bad idea after all. ...

Masterclass: Cost reduction.(on accountants and management consultancy)(Brief article)
July 10, 2008... What is it? The business cycle, which some people led us to believe had been abolished, has reappeared. We've had the boom, and now... well, something not so nice. So it's time to relearn a few basic principles that have gone out of...

Decisions: Charlie Mullins, Pimlico Plumbers, Founder/MD of London's largest independent plumbers.
July 10, 2008... MY BEST... Having personalised number plates for all the vans was an unbelievably good decision. It's money in the bank. The first number plate we bought was 15 or 20 years ago. I paid pounds 6,000 for 'DRAIN'. I think I'd spotted it and...

Behind the spin: HBOS.(Halifax Bank of Scotland)
July 10, 2008... THE DILEMMA. As Britain's biggest mortgage lender, HBOS is suffering more than most from the downturn in the housing market. Throw in over pounds 1bn in sub-prime losses, and you've got a bank that's in dire need of extra cash to shore up...

A degree of confidence.(Master of Business Administration)
July 10, 2008... MBA courses can cram you with useful skills and knowledge, but it takes natural ability and hard work to make the investment pay over time. The names of certain schools attach themselves to their alumni: David Cameron and Boris Johnson...

Books: Do we really have a choice?(Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth and Happiness)(Book review)
July 10, 2008... The authors believe we could make better decisions if we had a practical structure for choosing. Keith Jones admires the idealism of their 'liberal paternalism'. Nudge: Improving decisions about health, wealth and happiness Richard H...

Books: People who value novelty above habit.(Managing Creative People: Lessons in Leadership for the Ideas Economy)(Book review)
July 10, 2008... The author focuses more on the nature of creativity than how to manage it, but Tim Lindsay finds inspiring passages. Managing Creative People: Lessons in leadership for the ideas economy Gordon Torr Wiley pounds 24.99 It's a...

Three of a kind - Start your climb up the greasy pole.('Get Yourself Promoted,' 'From New Recruit to High Flyer,' 'The Secrets of Success at Work')(Recommended readings)
July 10, 2008... Get Yourself Promoted A&C Black, pounds 6.99 From New Recruit to High Flyer Hugh Karseras Kogan Page, pounds 9.99 The Secrets of Success at Work Richard Hall Prentice Hall, pounds 9.99

Books: The clues in your postcode.(Snoop: What Your Stuff Says About You)(Book review)
July 10, 2008... Sam Gosling clearly loves his job, rummaging through an individual's effects to learn more about their owner. Peter York discovers a soulmate in nosy-parkering. Snoop: What your stuff says about you Sam Gosling Profile Books pounds...

Women under 35: Welcome Generation Y.(List)
July 10, 2008... Confident, passionate and in control, MT's '35 Women Under 35' for 2008 are blowing a fresh breeze through British business. Although active in all areas of life, from fashion to computer gaming, they want to do it their own way. Many of them...

The MT Interview: Victor Chandler.(Management Today)(Interview)
July 10, 2008... Born into a bookmaking family, he found himself suddenly in charge of his father's failing business, with no experience and a widowed mother and sisters to support. The 'Indiana Jones of gambling' now runs a billion-pound business from...

Has the Tide Turned for Cornwall?(Cornwall, United Kingdom)
July 10, 2008... The Cornish flag of St Piran flutters more breezily these days. The remoteness that has enhanced the county's charm as a holiday destination is now no barrier to business in a wirefree world. A rising student population is adding to the buzz,...

Stay Focused.
July 10, 2008... The demanding client, the importunate boss, e-mail, the BlackBerry... modern business is not very Zen. Distractions abound, conspiring to take your attention from the road ahead. Ignore the hocus-pocus of cosmic ordering, says Dave Waller....

Apps on Tap.(software applications)
July 10, 2008... 'Software as a service' is a modern take on the ancient practice of renting mainframe time. By accessing applications online, a company can outsource data-handling and enjoy instant upgrades. Mike Hewitt explains the offering. Today, every...

Motor Mouth.(Jaguar XF SV8)(Product/service evaluation)
July 10, 2008... Jaguar is finally back on form with its XF 4.2 SV8 exec saloon It's beautiful both outside and inside, says Sathnam Sanghera. Business can be a funny business sometimes. Take Ford, for example. The car manufacturer has spent recent years...

Table Talk: Where George Davies eats ..(Fuor d'Acqua)(Restaurant review)
July 10, 2008... I've been going to Florence a hell of a long time for business. I have a studio in nearby Prato, and I saw the locals were driving 35 minutes to the Fuor d'Acqua, a fabulous restaurant in Florence that buys in fish fresh from Viareggio and...

What's your problem?(managing your boss)
July 10, 2008... Q: I am currently working closely on a long-term promotions project with a senior manager. The problem is that her communication skills are dreadful. During meetings she rambles and contradicts herself, and it's never clear what exactly she...

What's your problem?(on firing an employee)
July 10, 2008... Q: I have recently been promoted to manager, and one of the first things I have to do is fire a colleague who has been underperforming for a long time. He has received warnings from the previous manager. I have never fired anyone before, and I...

What's your problem?(bad mouthing in the workplace)(Brief article)
July 10, 2008... Q: I have recently become aware that a colleague senior to me has been bad-mouthing our organisation to one of our partner organisations, saying we're badly led and on the brink of collapse. I know this because he misdirected an e-mail to me....

First-Class Coach.(delegation and prioritization in the workplace)
July 10, 2008... Once you've sorted out what tasks and roles to delegate, work out who would be best to do them. Q: As I progress, I seem to get more and more loaded up with responsibilities. I'm working crazy hours. I know I should delegate more, but...

The Sharp End: Among the gum-busters.(chewing gum cleaning)
July 10, 2008... Zapping chewing-gum splats at Stamford Bridge is a blast for Rhymer Rigby. Used gum is a mid-level aesthetic blight, a kind of acne of the pavements. Worse, for those who have to do so, getting rid of it is a Forth Bridge-type task - no...